Near the end of September, I had the opportunity to visit Malawi with a few others from World Relief Burundi. We went there to learn about their integration of the local church there with their technical programs. General observations:
* Dry! They have EIGHT MONTHS of dry season a year! It was beautiful, but not green like Burundi, and the importance of a good rainy season was incredibly evident!
* People were warm and hospitable. We could not leave a place without a full meal. Always meals consisted of "sima" (pronounced see-mah), a white dough type substance that you roll up and dip into heavy beef sauces. Mmmmm. It seemed that people there were more open and generally friendlier than here in Burundi. Malawi has not experienced war like Burundi has, and I am sure that is a significant factor.
* The church in Africa CAN be empowered to serve the poor themselves!! It is possible! Sometimes, the challenges we face here in Burundi are discouraging... and it was inspiring to see several churches in Malawi, with support from World Relief there, to be excited about and doing significant programs to help the poor in their communities.
* As English is spoken, I loved being able to talk to people in the community (as here, people upcountry only speak Kirundi... not even French!). This mama (pictured below) is a member of her church's ministry team and helps run a program that gives pigs to her community!! We enjoyed chatting and laughing together.
2 comments:
Wow! What a coincidence! It's funny, there's a group of 5 Northwesters that are in and out of the clinic I'm going to work at. I'd love to meet up. How'd you stumble on my blog?
You're an excellent photographer, I'm going to be doing some photography in Burundi as well, but I've got a lot of learning to do.
This Mama looks like mother Elifa from my Nsanje Family. I am glad that
you got to go to Malawi.
Brother Darell
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